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THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC 

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THE PHANTOM COLUMN 
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BY 

HORATIO C. KING 



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COMPLIMENTS Cr 

Horatio C. KiNo, 

375 Fulton St., Br««ki>n, n. y. 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 
By Gen. Horatio C. King, LL.U. 

(Extract of Letter from Mrs. McCLellan on readiiiy the foUowirnj article.) 

Jefferson, " The Jeflfereoa," August 31, 1897. 
Dbar Gknbral King : 

I must send you a line to thaulc you tor the beautiful article you have written 
on my husband. It is one of the most satisfactory that has been written, and I 
cannot tell you how touched I am that you have written it. So many cruel things 
have been written about him that I appreciate this more than I can tell you, ae 
what you have said, you have said so well. * • * * 

Ag-ain thanking you f<->r what you have done, I am, dear General King, 
Yours very sincerely, 

ELLEN M. McCLELLAN. 

The ignorant and idiotic cry from the rear of " On to 
Richmond !" had precipitated an engagement at Bull Run 
between raw and undisciplined recruits. Both sides were 
defeated, but the Union forces realized it first and with- 
drew to Washington to commence the real study of war. 
And the first requisite was a competent instructor. 
Western Virginia had been attracting considerable atten- 
tion, for there McClellan and Rosecrans had been carrying 
on some warfare in a practical way as laid down by the 
rules of war. McDowell having voluntarily relinquished 
the command without dishonor, the young engineer from 
Ohio was called to Washington the day after the battle 
of Bull Run. The North, awakened to the fact that war 
is not a picnic, responded promptly and lavishly to the 
call for men and munitions, and McClellan began at once 
the difficult task of organizing the mass of raw civilians 
into a magnificent and cohesive army. Educated to the 
profession of war, he exhibited at once his marvelous 
abihty for organization and discipline, and the hetero- 
geneous mass which gave to Washington the appearance 
of being in the hands of a uniformed mob, soon felt the 
force of his genius. With rare skill he fashioned that 
grand machine which was not changed in any material 
detail until, flushed with victory, it saw the beaten and 
almost starved veterans of that seemingly invincible Army 



of Northern Virginia lay down their arms at Appomattox 
and melt away like snow under the influence of an April 
sun. A third of a century has passed away, and with it, 
happily, the passions which animated the critics of the 
first commander, who lived long enough to witness a 
great change in public sentiment, and to have his patriot- 
ism and ability almost universally acknowledged. The 
silly aspersions upon his loyalty are confined now mainly 
to the generation of ill-read youths who were in their 
swaddling clothes when he was standing as a wall against 
the vast hosts which fiaimted the " stars and bars " almost 
in sight of the Capital, which he saved by his hard-won 
victory at Antietam. One fact is universally conceded, 
namely : that no commander of prominence ever had 
more completely the devoted affection of his army, it 
was the magnetic influence which Napoleon exercised, 
and which gave to McClellan the loving sobriquet with 
which he was always mentioned, "Little Mac." It accom- 
panied him through all the vicissitudes of his active com- 
mand ; it followed him into retirement and throughout 
his life ; and when the sudden summons came, taps were 
sounded and the lights were out, no man of that great 
army who served under him but dropped a tear for 
" Little Mac," the brave commander, the thoughtful friend 
and the Christian gentleman.* 

* A notable exhibition of this aflfection came under my personal 
observation. The Society of the Array of the Potomac was organ- 
ized in New York City in 1869. McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, 
Meade, Sheridan and many other distinguished officers were present. 
It was naturally expected and an effort was made to have the first 
four presidents the four commanders of that army in the order of 
their service. 

Unfortunately, party feeling, so soon after the war, still ran high 
and it made itself conspicuous when the nominations for president 
were made. McClellan seemed to be the natural selection, and as 
his name was most frequently mentioned, he, with characteristic 
modesty, called General Burnside to the chair. McClellan, Meade, 
Sheridan, Hancock, Pleasonton, Slocum, Humphreys and Burnside 
were all placed in nomination. Sheridan asked to be excused as 
he had nominated Meade, but his name was not withdrawn. On 



The first call for seventy-five thousand troops seemed 
preposterously large, and untried officers found them- 
selves confronted with a difficult problem. Those were 
fortunate who were not called upon to solve it until later 

the first ballot the vote stood: McClellan, 164; Sheridan, 142; Meade, 
III ; and Humphreys and Burnside, each i. 

No candidate having received a majority, a second ballot was 
taken, with this result : Sheridan, 204 ; McClellan, 152 ; and Meade, 
34. Sheridan was then conducted to the chair amid general 
acclamations, while McClellan and many of his adherents quietly 
left the hall. Sheridan, though very popular, had not commanded 
the Arm}^ of the Potomac, and McClellan no doubt felt the slight 
very deeply. But he made no exhibition save a continuous absence 
from the reunions until the meeting in Washington, D. C, in 
1883. Oil this occasion he attended the banquet and responded to 
the toast of " The Army of the Potomac. " When he arose to speak 
and his presence was then first made known, his old comrades, of 
whom about four hundred were present, arose en masse, and for at 
least five minutes an enthusiasm which beggars description en- 
sued. At length, quiet being restored, he proceeded to make the 
first public reply to his critics and detractors. He reviewed his 
connection with that army from the time he took command in 
Washington until his retirement. He spoke of them as "more to 
me than mere comrades, more than brothers in arms, 3'ou were as 
my very children. " The address, which occupies less than three 
pages of the printed report, was calm, dispassionate, but full of 
pointed and patriotic allusions. He was frequently interrupted by 
cheers and wild applause, and no one present had any doubt after 
that of the place he held in the hearts of the men who followed him 
in the great struggle. In closing he said : ' ' That army which it 
was my fortune to organize and create, which, under my command, 
became an army of veterans, which under me first received its 
baptism in that sea of fire and blood through which for four long 
years it plunged with uplifted banners, and bearing on its bayonets 
the life of the nation until it emerged at Appomattox — the Grand 
Army of the Potomac — I, as its earliest and only living commander, 
am proud to believe stands the equal of any of the historic armies 
of the world, in efiiciency, in valor and achievement. I was right 
when in the beginning of our campaign I said to you that that man 's 
measure of honor and glory would be filled to overflowing who 
could say that he belonged to the Army of the Potomac." I be- 
lieve this was his first and last appearance, for a few years after he 
joined the ranks of the living on the ' ' other side of the water. ' ' 



in the war, when they had learned by experience how to 
manage and manenver large bodies of men. Some bril- 
liant soldiers failed in their hrst efforts, who, had they 
been summoned later to command, would have won un- 
fading laurels. It is not necessar}^ to name them. They 
are known to all who are familiar with the history of the 
war. McClellan is numbered as one of these. There 
never was a nation before which contained so many 
theoretical warriors, who, with pens dipped in gory ink, 
fought grand battles in the retirement of their dingy 
sanctums, or told how unsuccessful engagements might 
have been grand victories had General This and That 
only done thus and so ; and the merchant at his desk, the 
lawyer in the forum, the preacher in his study, and the 
schoolboy in his pinafore pointed out the mistakes of the 
generals, and showed how easily they might have pierced 
the center or doubled up the flanks, and bagged the entire 
Confederate army on each and every occasion, when the 
soldiers who were on the gi-ound were unable to accom- 
plish that very desirable result. The great trouble was 
that these suggestions were in the nature of a post 
mortem, which, while it may benefit science, is of small 
importance to the corpse. 

His first efforts were directed toward weeding out in- 
efficient officers, and several hundred were sent to their 
homes. Regiments were formed into brigades and brig- 
ades into divisions. As few officers at that time were 
competent to command a greater force than a division, 
the organization of corps was deferred until later. In fact, 
he directed every detail necessary to perfect the complex 
machine which was to remain practically intact until the 
close of the war. 

Nur did he overlook the importance of fortifications 
and intrenchments. It has been charged that McClellan 
depended too much upon the pick and the spade, but the 
country reaped the benefit of his foresight and skill as an 
engineer and digger when Early's entrance into Wash- 
ington was barred only by the magnificent line of fortifi- 
cations which were built by McClellan's orders and under 



his supervision. Later, our troops profited in every 
engagement by improvised defenses of earth, stone, rails 
and trees, and never lost an opportunity to work like 
beavers and dig like moles when in the presence of a 
wily, skillful, brave and powerful foe. A great marshal 
of France once said that " Whoever has committed no 
faults has never made war," and it is not claimed by any 
one that McClcllan was infallible ; but subsequent history 
proved that his plans, in their general characteristics, 
were the best, and especially the plan which made the 
James River the base for the approach to and final cap- 
ture of Richmond. It is true that the second great com- 
mander chose the land route, but his famous and persistent 
march by the left flank finally brought him to the James 
with the loss of a greater number than General McClellan 
had under his command at any time on the Peninsula. 
Grant had the men, and the hammering process was con- 
sidered sufficiently disastrous to the Confederate army 
to justify our sacrifice ; for it was said that at that time 
the South had already robbed the cradle and the grave 
to fill its depleted ranks. About one point there has 
never been any dispute. When McClellan left Alexandria 
for the Peninsula, the army of McDowell, near Fred- 
ericksburg, some forty thousand men, was under his 
command and was expected to co-operate with him. But 
his force was scarcely landed at Yorktown before the 
authorities at the Capital withdrew that force from 
McClellan's control, lest by uncovering Washington the 
Confederates might make a dash and capture it. It was 
not until Grant took supreme command, with the positive 
assurance from President Lincoln that he would not be 
interfered with by the civil authorities, that they learned 
the truth of McClellan's statement that the place to pro- 
tect and defend Washington was in front of Richmond. 

His original plan, known as the Anaconda plan, was the 
plan adopted by his immortal successor as general-in- 
chief, and indeed the only rational plan by which to con- 
quer over so vast a territory. 

It was undoubtedly McClellan's purpose to attack the 



Army of Northern Virginia at Manassas, and to attempt 
the capture of I^ichmond by the land route. The long 
delay in front of Manassas aroused much dissatisfaction, 
but the impracticability of following an enemy through 
one hundred miles in his own territory, and keeping up 
communication with a base of supplies, asserted itself. 
McClellan thereupon surprised the country by quietly 
transferring his entire army to a new base on the James 
River, thus compelling the Confederates to return to the 
protection of their menaced Capital. The withdrawal of 
McDowell's force from active co-operation was a serious 
blow. But the advance up the Peninsula was made. 
Yorktown was evacuated, Williamsburg was won, and 
soon the Union forces were encamped in sight of the 
spires of Richmond. There is not space here to give the 
movements and engagements in detail. The unchecked 
advance, the subsequent reverses, the skillful retreats, 
with the magnificent battle of Fair Oaks, and the terrific 
repulse of the enemy at Malvern Hill, which are among 
the most noted engagements of the war, can receive but 
passing mention here. At Fair Oaks the enemy lost their 
leader — Johnston — and seven thousand men, while our 
loss was but five thousand, and it was learned subse- 
quently that the people of Richmond momentarily awaited 
the tramp of our forces in the streets of their Capital ; and 
had our own army, after its terrible struggle of seven 
days' continuous fighting, been reinforced and thus en- 
abled to assume the offensive, it could even then have 
marched into that stronghold. In the campaign, our loss 
was a little over fifteen thousand, while the Confederate 
loss was over nineteen thousand. Victory was on the 
side of the Confederates, for the siege of Richmond was 
raised, but the morale of our army was not destroyed, or 
its confidence in its leader shaken. Had the army been 
then reinforced, even if placed under another leader, it is 
asserted by soldiers of acknowledged wisdom and experi- 
ence, that ultimate success would have been reached 
within a year — some say six months. Says Swinton, in 
summing up the results of the campaign : '• For the com- 



mander to have extricated his army from a difficult situ- 
ation, in which circumstances quite as much as his own 
fault had placed it, and in presence of a powerful, skillful 
and determined adversary, to have transferred it to a 
position whence it could act with effect, was of itself a 
notable achievement. For the army to have fought 
through such a campaign was creditable, and its close 
found inexperienced troops transformed into veteran 
soldiers ; and, if alone from the appeal which great suffer- 
ing and great sacrifices always make to a generous people, 
the story of that eventful march and arduous retreat, 
when, weary and hungry and footsore, the army marched 
by night and fought by day through a whole week of toil 
and never gave up, but made a good fight and reached 
the goal, cannot fail to live in grateful remembrance." 

The authorities at Washington, deeming further efforts 
on the Peninsula useless, withdrew the army, leaving 
McClellan practically without a command. A new com- 
mander was called from the West to lead the discomfited 
but not dispirited forces. 

I was on duty in the defenses south of Washington 
when General Pope fought and lost the second battle of 
Bull Run. Only those who were present can realize the 
consternation, amounting almost to panic, which existed 
in that city when the stragglers from that army, hatless, 
shoeless and ragged, swarmed by thousands in the streets 
of the Capital. It was the darkest period in the history 
of the war. Demoralization ran riot, and the authorities 
were wild with excitement and fear. All eyes were 
turned toward the little commander whose army had but 
recently been taken from him. Had he been less a man 
and a patriot, he would have rejected the oflfer to resume 
command of his army ; but he did not. His reassignment 
acted like magic. Immediately out of chaos came order; 
the nation once more breathed freely, and courage took 
the place of despair. Active traitors, cowards and mal- 
contents who had been stirring up sedition and opposition 
in the rear, and who were more dangerous to the safety 
of the Union than the open and avowed enemies with 



lO 



arms in their hands, were again cowed and dared not 
carry on their schemes for dissolution in the light of day. 
With scarce two weeks to equip and rehabilitate a dis- 
pirited army, he met the exultant enemy at Antietam, 
and defeated and drove them across the Potomac. He 
has been censured for not following up this victory, and 
so was the gallant Meade because he did not capture or 
drive the enemy into the river after the grand repulse at 
Gettysburg. On both occasions the great and glorious 
Army of the Potomac had been sorely pressed by three 
days of most terrible fighting, and the commanders, 
uninformed of the demoralization of their foes, were un- 
willing to risk a pursuit which they feared might deprive 
them of the immeasurable benefit of their victories. But 
both had accomplished great results : they had driven 
back the invaders of the North and saved the nation. 

The enemy crossed the Potomac, and sought rest in 
the Shenandoah Valley. Of the seventy thousand men 
with which Lee entered Maryland, thirty thousand were 
killed, wounded or prisoners of war. The invasion had 
utterly failed of its purpose in rallying Marylanders to 
the Confederate standard, for the people were apathetic, 
and, instead of receiving a welcome as friends, the}^ found 
themselves under the disadvantage, which confronted 
our troops almost always during the war, of campaigning 
in an enemy's country. After a month spent in replen- 
ishing supplies and putting the army in condition for an 
advance, McClellan, by a skillfully concealed movement, 
reached Warrenton, completely severing the Confederate 
army, a part of which had been detached to Culpeper, 
while the rest remained in the Shenandoah Valley. Here 
was McClellan's opportunity, and it was his purpose to 
fall upon each wing and beat it in detail, when the order 
came from Washington relieving him from the command 
of the army. The order was summary and brief : " By 
direction of the President of the United States, it is 
ordered that Major-General McClellan be relieved from 
the command of the Army of the Potomac, and that Major- 
General Burnside take command of that army." No 




]^lAjoi< (iKXEKAi. A. H. lUKXSinK, r. .S. A. 



II 

reason was assigned, and the order fell like a thunderbolt 
upon the troops, who loved this commander as they never 
loved one before or after. The scene was memorable, 
and characteristic of the man. It is related that Burnside 
was in McClellan's tent when the order was received. 
McClellan opened the dispatch, and reading it, passed it 
quickly and without any manifestation of emotion to 
Burnside, saying: "Well, Burnside, you are to command 
the army." Burnside, who felt his inability and shrank 
from the responsibility, was almost overcome with emo- 
tion. But I have not space to prolong the interview. 
McClellan withdrew in a few days, and his active career 
as a soldier was ended. Of this sudden and arbitrary 
removal Swinton, in his history of the Army of the 
Potomac, says : " Having accomplished his work of ex- 
pelling Lee from Maryland, he entered, after a brief 
repose, on a new campaign of invasion, and it was in the 
midst of this and on the eve of a decisive blow that he 
was suddenly removed. The moment chosen was an in- 
opportune and ungracious one, for never had McClellan 
acted with such vigor and rapidity, never had he shown 
so much confidence in himself or the array in him. And 
it is a notable fact that not only was the whole body oi 
the army, rank and file as well as officers, enthusiastic in 
their affection for his person, but that the very general 
appointed as his successor was the strongest opponent of 
his removal." 

--"^General Burnside reluctantly assumed command, and 
after remaining ten days at Warrenton formed the six 
corps of the Army into three grand divisions of two corps 
each, placing the right, the center and the left grand divi- 
sions under Generals Sumner, Hooker and Franklin 
respectively. In spite of the opposition of the authorities 
at Washington, General Burnside changed the line of 
maneuver and on November 15, 1862, moved toward 
Fredericksburg. On the 17 the advance reached Fal- 
mouth, and the army in a tew days took up a position on 
the north side of the Rappahannock. On the nth and 
1 2th of December the troops crossed over, and on the 



12 



1 3th commenced the disastrous battle of Fredericksburg. 
The Confederates were fully prepared, the character of 
the ground being most favorable to the defense. The 
action of that day was sufficiently convincing to the prin- 
cipal corps and division commanders of the necessity of 
recrossing the river, but Burnside determined to renew 
the conflict on the following day. Preparations were 
accordingly made, but, yielding to the entreaties of 
Sumner, Burnside desisted. The troops remained in 
position on the 14th and 15th, and on the night of the 
15th, in a violent storm, they retreated to their camps on 
the north side of the Rappahannock, completely outwit- 
ting Lee, who still awaited a renewal of the onslaught. 
The Army of the Potomac lost twelve thousand, three 
hundred, in killed, wounded and missing, and the Army of 
Northern Virginia five thousand, three hundred and nine. 
This battle has been fitly described as the " most bloody 
and the most useless of the war." 

On the 19th of January, 1863, Burnside essayed another 
crossing above Fredericksburg, but a heavy rain came on, 
and the celebrated abortive " mud march " was aban- 
doned. No other movement of importance was or c(juld 
be made under Burnside, in whose ability to command so 
large a force the army had lost confidence. Both Generals 
Franklin and Smith wrote the President advising against 
the advance to Richmond by that route and recommend- 
ing a return to the Peninsula. President Lincoln, while 
refusing to accept this suggestion, relieved the situation 
by retiring Burnside and placing General Joseph Hooker 
in command. It is notable that Burnside never lost the 
respect and affection of the army, and his subsequent 
career served to endear him still more closelv to his 
troops and to the country. 

Hooker had gained a great reputation as a corps com- 
mander, and much was hoped for. The army at this time 
numbered about 120,000 artillery and infantry, 12,000 
cavalry and 400 guns. It comprised seven corps — the 
First (General Reynolds), Second (General Couch), Third 
(General Sicklesj, Fifth (General Meade), Sixth (General 



13 

Sedgwick), Eleventh (General Howard), and Twelfth 
(General Slocum). The reorganization left out several 
most valuable officers whose loss was greatly felt and de- 
plored. Hooker awaited the return of good roads and 
better fighting conditions, and on the 27th of April the 
movement began which culminated in the bloody and 
disastrous defeat at Chancellorsville. Concerning this, I 
shall not enter into particulars, but will commend the in- 
quirer to the published account of Colonel A. C. Hamlin, 
who has made an exhaustive examination and study ot 
this field and conflict. His work will serve, to some ex- 
tent, at least, to set at rest many disputes, and in the 
minds ot some, at least, to place the blame for the failure 
of this brilliantly planned but badly executed battle where 
it properly belongs. The death of Stonewall Jackson 
was an irreparable loss to the Confederate army, and 
from this time on the cause of the South began to wane. 

The army, not knowing why it was beaten, was again 
on the north side of the Rappahannock, strong in its abil- 
ity to overcome the rebellion, but distrustful of its leader. 
Flushed with victory, Lee took up the offensive and de- 
termined to carry the war again across the border. 
Hooker had ho alternative but to follow him on interior 
lines and endeavor to head him off. There were spirited 
cavalry engagements at Beverly's Ford, Brandy Station 
and Aldie, in which the cavalry showed their mettle and 
developed Lee's intentions. The Confederate force 
pushed along into Maryland and Pennsylvania, its ad- 
vance raiders levying contributions on York, and threat- 
ening the capital of the Keystone State. Hooker finding 
himself embarrassed by the refusal of General Halleck to 
comply with his request for more troops and the evacua- 
tion of Harper's Ferry, asked to be relieved on the 27th 
of June, and on the following morning General Meade 
was placed in command. He at once commenced to con- 
centrate the army to meet Lee, and the various move- 
ments finally brought the two great forces face to face at 
Gettysburg. Here the war reached high-water mark. 
After three days of desperate fighting, a new emphasis 



14 

was given to the nation's birthday, for the 4th of July 
found the beaten Confederates in full retreat, no more to 
return to Northern soil, except as peaceful citizens of a 
redeemed and reunited nation. 

Gettysburg was the Confederate Waterloo. With the 
coincident fall of Vicksburg and the cutting of the Con- 
federacy in twain, all hope of success through foreign 
recognition or other means was dashed. Lee retired to 
the Shenandoah Valley, followed by Meade, and after 
various diversions attended with unimportant results, the 
victorious Army of the Potomac drove the enemy across 
the Rapidan and took up a position at and near Culpeper 
Court House, on the north side of the river. The Elev- 
enth and Twelfth Corps were detached and sent to Ten- 
nessee. Various strategic movements were undertaken 
by Lee, but no general engagement was brought on, 
though the affair at Bristol would have been so considered 
earlier in the war. There was a handsome brush also at 
Rappahannock Station, where the Confederates lost 1,500 
prisoners, four guns and eight standards, and an unsuc- 
cessful attack at Mine Run. The army then went into 
winter quarters at Culpeper, the cavalry keeping ofl" 
ennui by two raids, in one of which (a reckless attempt to 
enter Richmond and release Union prisoners) the brave 
Colonel Dahlgren lost his life. 

On the 2d of March General Grant was confirmed as 
lieutenant-general and on the loth he was assigned to the 
command of all the armies of the United States. He at 
once went to General Meade's headquarters, and after 
due consideration concluded to remain in the field with 
the Army of the Potomac. It then comprised three corps, 
the First under General Hancock, the Fifth under Gen- 
eral Warren and the Sixth under General Sedgwick, to 
which was added the Ninth Corps under General Burn- 
side, but recently returned from East Tennessee. General 
Sheridan was transferred from the West to command the 
cavalry, General H. J. Hunt was chief of artillery. Major 
J. C. Duane chief engineer, and General Rufus Ingalls 
chief quartermaster. The division commanders were : 



IS 

of the Second Corps, Barlow, Gibbon, Birney and Mott ; 
of the Fifth Corps, Griffin, Robinson, Crawford and 
Wadsworth ; of the Sixth Corps, Wright, Getty and 
Ricketts ; of the Ninth Corps, Stevenson, Potter, Willcox 
and Ferrero ; of the cavalry, Torbert, Gregg and Wilson. 
The command numbered about 140,000 available men. 

On the 3d of May the most bloody of all the campaigns 
of the war was inaugurated. The movement by the left 
flank is immortalized in song and story, and the epigram- 
matic sentence of Grant, " We will fight it out on this 
line if it takes all summer," takes position alongside of the 
sententious "Vent/ Vidi ! Vict /" oi Caesar. The battle 
of the Wilderness, May 5 to 7, was a drawn battle. Our 
loss was 15,000 and that of the Confederates about 8,000. 
His greatly superior force, however, enabled Grant to 
push on. At Spottsylvania there was another terrific en- 
gagement, regarded by careful historians as the fiercest 
and most sanguinary of the whole war. The breastworks 
on both sides were frequently lost and retaken. After 
twenty hours of fighting, Lee withdrew and reformed his 
lines. Our loss was about 8,000, and that of the Confed- 
erates, who came out from behind their entrenchments, 
was probably equally as great. Here the noble Sedgwick 
fell. Efforts, however, to dislodge the enemy, after ten 
days' maneuvering, proving fruitless, Grant again took 
up the line of march. Forty thousand men had fallen, 
and the outlook was not encouraging. Sheridan with the 
cavalry had gone on a raid, and succeeded in defeating 
the Confederate cavalry at Yellow Tavern, killing General 
J. E. B. Stuart, the ablest cavalry leader in the Southern 
armies. Co-operative movements were also going on in 
the Shenandoah Valley and at Bermuda Hundred, but all 
eyes were turned upon the Army of the Potomac. Grant 
crossed the North Anna, but finding that route impracti- 
cable, recrossed and passed on across the Pamunkey, 
where he struck his new base of supplies by the York 
River. But there was still more fighting to be done to 
secure Cold Harbor, which it was necessary if practicable 
to hold. The fearful repulse here resulted, in the incred- 



i6 

ibly short space of ten minutes, in the loss of 13,000 men, 
while the Confederate's loss was claimed to be less than 
2,000. The army was then withdrawn to the south side 
of the James River preparatory to the siege of Richmond. 
The overland campaign had been again unsuccessful and 
the intrepid army found itself, in June, 1864, practically 
where it was in the summer of 1862 and Richmond still 
defiant. The failure of Butler to capture Petersburg by 
assault rendered a long siege necessary. The mine fiasco 
and the attack on the Weldon road, the fights at Reams 
Station and Hatcher's Run, were among the principal 
features of the siege. 

Meanwhile, the anaconda was rapidly tightening its 
hold upon the Confederacy. Sheridan in the Shenandoah 
Valley with the cavalry, the Sixth, the Eighth and part of 
the Nineteenth Corps, had redeemed that section, and in 
March, after destroying the railroads and canal eti route, 
came out at City Point. Winchester and Cedar Creek 
are a part of the laurels of the Army of the Potomac, and 
the corps shipped to the West also gave a most satisfac- 
tory account of themselves. Lee created a diversion by 
an attack on Washington, but the opportune arrival of 
the Sixth Corps saved the city. 

At length everything was ready, and General Grant 
fixed March 29 as the day for the final movement for the 
capture of the Confederate Capital. The Army of the 
Potomac was reinforced by the iVrmy of the James, under 
General Ord. It comprised two divisions of the Twenty- 
fourth Corps (General Gibbon), one division of the 
Twenty-fifth Corps (General Birney), and a small body of 
cavalry, a division only in name, under General McKenzie. 
The organization of the Army of the Potomac at this 
time, under General Meade, included the Second Corps 
(General Humphreys), Fifth Corps (General Warren), 
Sixth Corps (General Wright), Ninth Corps (General 
Parke), and Sheridan's cavalry. The division commanders 
were: of the Second Corps, Miles, Hays and Mott ; of 
the Fifth, Grifiin, Ayres and Crawford ; of the Sixth, 
Wheaton, Getty and Seymour; of the Ninth, Willcox, 



17 

Potter and Hartranft; of the cavalry, Merritt (command- 
ing corps), Devin, Custer and Crook. 

The development of the enemy at Five Forks, and the 
three days of pitched battle, the flight of Davis from 
Richmond, the general advance of the army and capture 
of Richmond, the rapid pursuit of Lee and running hght, 
the sanguinary conflict with the rear guard at Sailors' 
Creek, and the surrender at Appomattox, completed the 
work of as magnificent an army as the w^orld ever saw. 

Its duty done, it returned to Washington to receive the 
nation's plaudits in one last grand review, and then it 
melted away into peaceful pursuits, to enjoy the blessings 
which it helped to secure and perpetuate. 

In the address of the late General Francis A. Walker 
before the Society of the Army of the Potomac at Port- 
land, in 1890, he depicted with masterly hand that great 
review, and, in concluding, said : " Yes, comrades, our 
day is over. Mustered out of service, enfeebled by years, 
disabled by wounds, we are no longer to be counted even 
among the military reserve of the country. Another war, 
should it occur, would have to be fought by younger and 
stronger hands than ours. But no one can take from us 
our certificates of honorable discharge, or diminish the 
part we had in the nation's deliverance. Whenever we 
see the statue of one of our heroes dedicated amid the ap- 
plause of thousands, and the thunders of cannon, when- 
ever we see some crippled veteran halting in his steps, 
each of us may stand up and proudly cry : ' I, too, was of 
the Army of the Potomac !' " — From Frank Leslie's Illus- 
trated Magazine. 




Major-CiICxkrai, Joskph Hooker, U, vS. A. 



THE PHANTOM COLUMN; 



BY 



Gen. HORATTO C. KING, LL.D. 



*Read at the Re-union of the Society of the Army of the Potomac at 
Niagara Falls, N. Y., September i, 1898. 



THE PHANTOM COLUMN. 

Under the stars the veteran lay, 

His wearied form upon the sod ; 
The a^ed sire had tramped all day 

Over the fields where armies trod. 
The full-orbed moon from cloudless skies 

Poured silver sheen on shrub and trees. 
The patriot slept, his weary eyes 

Soothed by the gentle evening breeze. 

In dreams the slowly circling years 

Rolled swiftly back on Memory's wings, 
And war with all its pomp and tears. 

Its grim and ghastly happenings. 
Passed in review, and one by one 

The grand array of noble men, 
Their conflicts past, their battles done, 

The old man's vision filled again. 

The roll of drum, the scream of fife, 

The blare of bugles rent the air. 
The gallant dead awoke to life 

And filled the landscape everywhere ; 
The restless charger, mad with fear, 

Rushed blindly o'er the gory plain, 
And shrieking shot alarmed the ear. 

And thickly fell like drops of rain. 

McClellan. 

From out the dread confusion rose 

The form beloved, to all most dear, 
Of little Mac, in calm repose, 

And to the roll call answered " Here ! " 
Before him surged the restless tide 

Of battle desperate and wild ; 
Antietam's meadows, far and wide, 

Beheld our emblem undefiled. 



23 

His brain it was that formed the plan; 

His hand that shaped the vast machine 
That from the crude, untutored man 

Made living bulwarks, stern of mien ; 
And twice when foes demoniac 

The hearts of patriots unnerved. 
He drove the stubborn rebels back — 

The nation's Capital preserved. 

Sleep, soldier, still in honored rest." 

Thy voice is silent, but thy name 
In comrades' hearts the tenderest 

Shall Hve to everlasting fame. 
And to thy grave in countless years 

Shall loving generations press 
To dew the grass with grateful tears 

And evermore thy memory bless. 

BURNSIDE. 

With varying fortunes rolled the battle's tide, 
And hope and fear held counsel side by side. 
Here on the left must fall the desperate fight. 
And take the pressure from the faltering right. 
Once peaceful stream now trembling with the shock 
Of angry armies standing firm as rock, 
Thy limpid waters will be crimson dyed 
With blood fraternal, and thine emerald side 
With lifeless bodies thickly shall be strewn 
Ere yonder sun shall tell the hour of noon. 

See on yon crest the glistening bayonets rise 

And flash defiance in their foemen's eyes ! 

And now again the angry cannon roar. 

And hell itself holds carnival once more. 

" Forward ! now charge ! Press onward to the ridge ! 

And gallant Burnside firmly holds the bridge. 

Lo ! darkness steals upon the hideous sight 

And covers horror with the shield of night: 




"■"4^ 



Major Ghnkkal (iicoKCri-; G. Mhad:*:, I'. vS. A. 



23 

The day is ours ! Antietam's bloody plain 
With war's battaHons ne'er shall shake again. 

Comrade, farewell ! Thy race was nobly run. 

A grateful country calls thee " Favored Son ; " 

And babbling sires, in ages far away, 

Shall tell the story of that fateful day 

When Burnside took the bridge, and joyful cry, 

" In truth it was a famous victory ! " 



Hooker. 

Where Rappahannock's muddy current flows 

Swift to Potomac's clearer waters, rose 

With magic speed a city vast and dense, 

Alive with agents of God's recompense. 

The dingy tents o'erspread the extended plain. 

Through miles of streets the wearied eye in vain 

Sought limit to the scene. Along the banks 

The frowning batteries stood in sullen ranks, 

While gayly fluttering from unnumbered masts, 

Saluted by the bugle's piercing blasts, 

The old flag floated, whose resplendent stars 

Still shone undaunted o'er the " Stars and Bars : " 

No stripe besmirched, each brilliant star in place, 

The glorious emblem of God's noblest race. 

The ancient town that burrowed in the hills. 

Unhappy victim of war's desperate ills. 

Lay sleeping all unconscious of the flood 

That on the morrow stained its streets with blood. 

And now the bugle and the rattling drum 

Arouse the soldier from his dream of home. 

The neighing steeds, impatient for the fray, 

Awake the echoes of the dawning day. 

" By right flank, forward ! " and the mighty mass 

The surging waters of the river pass. 

And at the head, all heedless of the foe. 

The impassive features of our " Fighting Joe." 



24 



Farewell, courageous heart! thy honored name 
Is written high upon the roll of fame. 
And youthful patriots shall thy valor know 
While lingering o'er the deeds of " Fighting Joe." 



Meade. 

Fair were the fields that peaceful July day 
And sweet the air with scent of new-mown hay ; 
And Gettysburg's serene, enchanted plain 
Emblazoned shone with waves of golden grain. 

The western ridge where sweet embowered stood 
The sacred shrine, half hidden in the wood, 
Recked not of war, but echoed with the tread 
Of God's sweet messengers of peace who led 
The thoughts from earthly things to things above. 
And taught the wayward heart that God is love : 
While far across the fields of ripened grain 
Another ridge uprose from out the plain ; 
And in its bosom, freed from earthly woes, 
The dead of ages lay in calm repose. 

Relentless War that cruelly would blot 
With brother's blood this consecrated spot. 

The vast battalions whetted for the fray 
By frequent combats, fierce from day to day. 
Now face to face in hostile posture stand 
Intent to drench with blood their native land. 

Lo ! from their midst a puff of smoke and then 

The quick advance of twenty thousand men, 

A solid line of veterans clad in gray. 

With rigid nerves and earnest for the fray ; 

In dreams a vigorous nation rose to sight. 

The " Stars and Bars " emblazed in glorious light. 



25 

On, on they came, nor faltered in their tread, 

Each man a hero — giants at their head. 

We stand enthralled at courage so sublime — 

No nobler record on the page of time — 

And saddened hearts in deepest sorrow pause 

To mourn such courage in so sad a cause. 

With bristling bayonets glistening in the sun, 
The stubborn ranks, inspired by victories won, 
Pressed grimly on, unmindful of the storm 
Of shot and shell that felled full many a form, 
Until an earthquake shook the startled earth, 
As though the fiends of hell were given birth. 
The Federal guns now belched volcanic wrath, 
Which carried untold misery in its path. 
Still on they came ; the gaps they quickly close. 
" Now fire ! " and from our serried ranks there rose 
A wild hurrah, and swift the leaden hail 
Fell on the rebel lines. See ! now they quail ! 
" Strike ! strike ! for freedom and your native land ! 
And bayonets clashed in contests hand to hand. 
Oh, fierce the struggle, but they break ! they fly ! 
And God to Freedom gives the victory ! 

Napoleon's sun went down at Waterloo, 
And Wellington's immortal rose to view : 
While history lasts the grateful eye shall read 
Our Wellington in brave, victorious Meade. 

Here on this field a dire darkness fell 
On Southern hopes, and history will tell 
With caustic pen how vengeful was the hate 
That spurred their leaders to more bitter fate — 
That filled the beauteous Southern hills and dales 
With countless graves and Sorrow's saddest wails. 
The cause was lost; thrice happy day for her! 
From slavery redeemed, she rises conqueror. 



26 

Under the stars the soldier slept, 

And fast the phantom column passed ; 
Hancock and Kearny by him swept, 

And Doubleday with columns massed ; 
And Couch, Ord, Slocum, Reynolds too, 

And Warren, Sedgwick, and the brave 
Old VVadsworth marched in grand review 

The path of glory to the grave ; 
And Sheridan, and last of all 

Immortal Grant, and by his side 
The martyred Lincoln, at whose call 

Unnumbered thousands fought and died. 



A smile lit up the old man's face, 

A benediction lingered on his tongue, 

" God bless our land ! God bless our race ! 
And then the curtain down was rung. 



Tho Tjnvffofit Trtanrnfu-e Com nff'>^y 
in if><- Wot hi 

The Mutual Life 

Insurance Company of New York 



RICHARD A. McCURDY, President 



Assets, Dec. 31, 1897 = = $253. ''86,437 66 
Liabilities = - - = = $ 178.243 07 



Surplus = = = = $35,508,194 59 



Paid to Po!icy=holders since 

organization = - = $462,997,250 71 



Income in 1897 = = = 54.162,608 23 

increase of Income in 1897 = $4,459,91296 

increase of Surplus = = = $5,774,679 ^9 

and 

Decrease of Expenses = = $146,178 31 



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